I was given this terrarium from my boss who owned poisonous dart frogs. I love this little things and have no idea how to take care of it. Currently, i have it on a 12 on 12 off light cycle, and am misting it every day. I have no idea when it was started and it has been in my possession for less than 1 month. I have a few questions and am open to feedback as to keep this this healthy!
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How much water should I keep in it? Currently have those hydroponic clay balls in the bottom and was told to keep those submerged.
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How often to water? Where to water? Directly over plants? On glass?
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How many isopods should I have? I believe it have 2 maybe 3 in there currently.
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I am worried about mold in the future. What are some good ways to mitigate that?
Thanks for all the help!
by DillyKicksRocks
5 Comments
Love the crystal
Is that an air plant on top?
are you housing dart frogs in it?? or are you just keeping it as a terrarium
This looks great! My only complaint is that it’s not in my house.
Especially starting out, I would err on the side of underwatering. The clay stones should not need to be submerged. This is meant as a drainage layer, to prevent the substrate from getting waterlogged and rotting the plants’ roots.
I can’t tell how much ventilation, if any, this terrarium has. If it is little to none, I would stop watering entirely, except for misting *just* the air plants every couple of days, for a very long time. I recommend that you turkey-baster most or all of the water out of the bottom.
Mold is indeed a concern, especially given the higher-than-optimal amount of moisture that this terrarium appears to have. It is especially likely to form around the base and on the lower leaves of your ferns. The terrarium should be humid, but it should not be excessively damp. If you grab a handful of substrate, and can squeeze drops of water from it with your hand, this is too damp. If you already drained the water from the clay stones, you can leave the terrarium open for a few days, testing again periodically. Be aware that unwelcome visitors may enter the terrarium. Using a bit of window screen or similar can reduce the likelihood of this.
Unfortunately, the air plants are sensitive to copper, which could otherwise serve as a fungicide. Instead, I would get a colony of springtails to help manage potential mold growth. They do not tend to climb well, though, and mostly will munch on mold that is on the substrate, and growing low on the plants.
If you see mushrooms, these are generally not a problem. Mushrooms will help break down your substrate into more usable nutrients for your plants. Mushrooms or not, your plants will likely need no added fertilizer. A possible exception is your African violet, which may appreciate a *light* application every now and then. As with water, err on the side of too little, instead of too much. Remember that you do not have as much growing media around your violet as a traditional flowerpot would offer.
You don’t need to obsess about this, but I would blot the water from the inside of the glass. Where leaves touch the glass, water will be held against the leaves, and this will promote mold growth and anaerobic (bad) bacteria, which can rot leaves and cause disease.
In the event that a plant develops mold, mildew, or some other disease, do not be squeamish about trimming off affected parts of the plant, or removing it altogether. You will almost certainly encounter some sort of infection or disease eventually. This is part of the learning process. Be on the lookout for problems, and correct them before they become bigger problems.
Oof, the ground looks way too wet. I’m not in agreement with the clay balls submerged. You need a layer of dryness between them and the substrate/dirt- otherwise you will always have too wet substrate.